The Red Cedar River winds through the picturesque Michigan State University campus, surrounded by trees and nearly 170 years of history dating back to the school’s founding as an agricultural college.
If Bill Walton decides to keep following the Oregon Ducks around the country once they leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten Conference, East Lansing is certainly no “truck stop.” Its sports history — at times groundbreaking — shouldn’t be overlooked, either. Former Oregon State Beavers coach Jonathan Smith will try to build on it starting this fall.
As the Ducks prepare for a move to the Big Ten in 2024, The Oregonian/OregonLive is taking a look at all of their newest conference rivals. While Ducks fans might be deeply familiar with fellow Pac-12 departees Washington, USC and UCLA, they have 14 new teams to get to know this year.
Next up is the Michigan State Spartans.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Nickname: Spartans
Location: East Lansing, Michigan
School founded: 1855
Joined Big Ten: 1950
Type: Public
Enrollment: 51,316
Endowment: $4.05 billion
Athletic department spending (2021-22): $156.4 million
Athletic department revenue (2021-22): $172.8 million
Football spending (2021-22): $51.2 million
Football revenue (2021-22): $96.4 million
Football stadium: Spartan Stadium
Capacity: 75,005
Varsity sports: 23 (11 men’s, 12 women’s)
Mascot: Sparty
Fight song: “Victory for MSU”
Notable alumni: James Caan, Kirk Cousins, Kirk Gibson, Draymond Green, Chris Hansen, Magic Johnson, Sam Raimi, Zach Randolph
Famous coaches: Mark Dantonio (football), Tom Izzo (men’s basketball)
Biggest rivals: Michigan, Penn State
Essential movie: Through the Banks of the Red Cedar (2018) — Documentary about the MSU football teams of the 1960s, who made history as the first fully-integrated football program in the country and won back-to-back national titles in 1965 and 1966.
Team national titles: Football (6, 3 NCAA-recognized titles), men’s basketball (2), men’s boxing (2), men’s cross-country (8), women’s cross-country (1), men’s gymnastics (1), men’s ice hockey (3), men’s soccer (2), wrestling (1)
Did you know? The MSU Dairy Store is a hit among students and visitors, famous for ice cream which is produced with milk from the university’s dairy cows. MSU’s longstanding history as an agricultural college has a direct connection to the tasty scoops students enjoy today.
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